Social Media Marketing All-in-One For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Chapter 3: Starting a LinkedIn Group

In This Chapter

• Engaging with like-minded people through LinkedIn groups
• Growing a LinkedIn community around your brand
• Moderating LinkedIn groups

A LinkedIn group is much different than a Company Page or individual profile. A group is less about your brand and more about growing a community and engaging people about a specific topic or niche. Creating a group doesn't promote your business in an obvious way, nor does it give you a place to sell — however, a group can be a wonderful place to learn more about your online community and your niche, which can help with the sales process.

LinkedIn groups provide you with a way to extend your brand's reach without selling. When you spend time with your online community, you gain their trust, and trust leads to sales. In this chapter, we talk about how to rock a LinkedIn group so that it's the place everyone wants to be.

Exploring the Benefits of LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn groups are like forums where the members of your group can ask and answer questions and share ideas. You can have up to 20,000 members of your LinkedIn group, so it gives you an opportunity to reach tens of thousands of people.

The benefits of a LinkedIn group abound:

• Establish expertise. By participating in discussions, you're showing off your knowledge.
• Learn about the people who are interested in your brand or niche. Having ongoing discussions outside of your Company Page gives you an opportunity to learn about the people who are ...